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Two cases of lives turned around.

Many people who are now living rather significant and important lives would not have been expected to do so when they were much younger. They might have seemed like just ordinary Joes, or nobodies, or not those likely to succeed. But many people, usually with God’s help, have turned their lives around and made quite a name for themselves.

Here I will discuss two of them, both being quite significant in light of the current American presidential election campaign.

Case One

There has been so much commentary on the attempt to assassinate Donald Trump. And even more importantly, there have been millions of prayers that have been offered up on his behalf. Prayers for protection. Prayers for blessing. Prayers for guidance. Prayers for grace. And so on.

Most of these prayers have been uttered privately. But some have been made in public. With all that in mind, have a read of this powerful prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Giver of Life, we bow our heads in prayer as we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Reclaim this land for Your glory and dwell among Your people.

Send Your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Open their minds to the great worth of human life and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Remind Your people that true freedom can exist when we cast aside hate and find our commonalities rather than shame one another over our differences.

Bless You for your divine intervention and protection yesterday when those who wish to destroy our country failed and we are humbled by Your power and mercy. We lift our country up before You asking to restore righteousness and integrity. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Who voiced this prayer? Was it Ted Cruz? Franklin Graham? James Dobson? No, it was actually uttered by Ted Nugent on 14 July. Ted who? Well, you need to be old like me, and maybe an ex-hippy like me, to immediately recognise the name. He is an old rocker – a wild man of the music scene, who is now living a quite different life in so many ways.

As a hardcore rocker, singer and guitarist, he likely first came to the attention of many when he was with The Amboy Dukes. Their hit 1968 single was “Journey to the Center of the Mind”. It was one of the earlier and better acid rock/psychedelic rock songs at the time. I still enjoy it! You can listen to it here.

Another one of his big hits was “Cat Scratch Fever”, released in 1977. See the video here.

So what does a wild rocker from the ’60s and ’70s have to do with a change of heart? Well, he is now an outspoken conservative and a Christian. What he is now is not what you would have expected of him back in his earlier days. Let me mention just a bit of his story.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1948, he soon made it big in the world of rock. But because he was grounded in a rather solid family, he did not engage in all the craziness of the rock world. For example, he did not get into drugs or alcohol. And now he is a leading proponent of various conservative causes, including supporting Trump.

As to his religious faith, he once said this in an interview:

I was raised in a hunting family, and when you hunt, and you kill an animal, that’s a great challenge and discipline and higher level of awareness. You realize that the Big Bang could not have created a heart and lungs and the incredible escape mechanisms of these magnificent animals that God created.

That was creation by the Hand of God, and you’re driven to participate as a servant of God. So yes, I believe in God, I’m a Christian… I could give you many, many examples, I should not have survived certain occurrences, and God saved my life and pulled me through. Many, many dangerous situations. He has a plan for me, He woke me up, and He continues to wake me up.

When I saw the hippies and the beatniks intentionally poisoning their lives to pursue a comfortable numbness, and ‘comfortably numb’ is actually ‘uncomfortably dumb’, I mean, it’s just irresponsible, and it’s rude, it’s disrespectful, it’s condescending, it’s selfish.

All this helps to explain that very important and heartfelt prayer he made after the Trump shooting.

Case Two

My second example might be more well-known, especially given his somewhat earlier story was recounted in book form. I refer to the new running mate and Vice-Presidential candidate, J. D. Vance. The first thing that I must say about him is this: Vance and his family are now on my daily prayer list. He and they will certainly need it, especially given what happened recently.

Last Monday night, the first night of the Republican National Convention held in Milwaukee, Vance was named as Trump’s running mate. Talk about a rags-to-riches story. Talk about a real American success story.

For those who know nothing about him, let me offer this very brief and abbreviated outline of his life:

• He is 39 years old (born on 2 August 1984).
• He is married with 3 kids – 7, 4, and 2 years old.
• His wife Usha is the daughter of Indian immigrants, has law degrees from Yale and Cambridge, is a bookworm, and is a Hindu. She resigned from her law firm when J. D. was nominated as VP.
• He was born in Ohio, and raised in Appalachia in poverty and hardship.
• His mother was a drug and alcohol addict, and his dad was often in jail.
• He and his mother experienced domestic violence.
• His grandmother helped to raise him. She was a person of faith – a Protestant. He more recently converted to Catholicism, citing especially Augustine as an influence.
• For four years he served with the Marines, including time in Iraq.
• He graduated from Ohio State, and then Yale Law School.
• He released his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. It was well-received, and even turned into a movie.
• While a never-Trumper back in 2016, he changed his view while Trump served his first term.
• He became a successful businessman.
• He has been for two years now a Republican senator for Ohio.

Here we have someone who should never have gotten this far, given his early upbringing. And even eight years ago, he was a clear anti-Trumper. So, things can and do change over time. And in a few months, he might become the second most important figure in American politics.

Here, then, are two stories out of so many of how bad early circumstances or decisions made in one’s youth need not keep us trapped in just one path. We can grow, we can change, and we can make a real difference. Obviously, the main way we can change and turn things around is with the help of Christ.

Please keep folks like Vance and Nugent in your prayers.

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Republished with thanks to CultureWatch. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.